The school holidays are upon us again here in Scotland (well, here in Shetland, at least.  Other areas of Scotland will probably vary) and that means one thing.  Mass exodus from the islands by boat.  So my number 1 reason to be cheerful this week is this:

I have a cabin on the boat tonight!

Yep, no uncomfortable airline seat for me, no making a nest out of bags and trying to defend an area of the bar seating.  Nope.  Me and the kids are in a cabin, watching movies and telling stories to get ourselves to sleep.

My dad is taking time off work!!!

That one deserves the triple exclamation mark.  Dad is actually taking time off work (he’s self-employed, and as any self-employed person knows you’re working for the toughest boss you’ll ever meet) to spend time with his grandchildren (and me) – I actually cannot remember the last time he did this when we’ve been to visit.  He’s booked some fantastic things for us to do this week, which we’ll be doing come rain or shine, like The Forbidden Corner.

The Harrogate Comedy Festival

If a comedy festival isn’t a reason to be cheerful, I don’t know what is.  I’ve got tickets to see Tony Hawks and I’m taking my mum.  So Tony, if you’re reading this, could you say Hi to Beryl!

No work for a week!!!

Aaaaaaaaand relax.  No worrying about whether SharePoint is up or down, no “could you get me another toner cartridge for my over-used printer?”  Google usage on the islands will have dropped dramatically and I apologise to anyone relying on income from EasySearch.org.uk (1/2p per search to the charity of your choice) as I’ve been using that almost exclusively of late.

There are downsides – me and 5 kids on the train tomorrow for 5 hours is going to be interesting, the usual family politics, the weather tonight and tomorrow morning could make things interesting…  And blogging opportunities are going to be reduced, so if it seems quiet here that’s why.

Now.  What’re your reasons to be cheerful this week?  Follow the linky and find some more!